Bodega Bay | |
 Location of Bodega Bay and Bodega Harbor | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Bodega Bay, California |
|---|---|
| Area | 3,170 acres (1,280 ha) |
| Built | 1811 |
| NRHP reference No. | 73000461[1] |
| CHISL No. | 833[2] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 18, 1973 |
| Designated CHISL | November 3, 1969 |
Bodega Bay (Spanish:Bahía Bodega) is a shallow, rockyinlet of thePacific Ocean on the coast of northernCalifornia in theUnited States. It is approximately 5 mi (8 km) across and is located approximately 40 mi (60 km) northwest ofSan Francisco and 20 mi (32 km) west ofSanta Rosa. The bay straddles the boundary betweenSonoma County to the north andMarin County to the south. The bay is a marine habitat used for navigation, recreation (including swimming and surfing, especially by theDillon Beach area), and commercial and sport fishing (including shellfish harvesting).[3]
Bodega Bay is protected on its north end from the Pacific Ocean byBodega Head, which shelters the smallBodega Harbor and is separated from the main bay by ajetty. TheSan Andreas Fault runs parallel to the coastline and bisectsBodega Head, which lies on thePacific Plate; the town is on theNorth American Plate. The village ofBodega Bay sits on the east side of Bodega Harbor. The bay connects on its south end to the mouth ofTomales Bay.
Streams flowing into Bodega Bay include theEstero de San Antonio and theAmericano Creek.Accessible beaches on Bodega Bay includeDoran Regional Park (on the jetty) andPinnacle Gulch.[4]Apart from the harbor, all of Bodega Bay lies within the boundaries of theGulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
Coast MiwokNative Americans lived on the shores of Bodega Bay. Documented village names include:Helapattai,Hime-takala,Ho-takala, andTokau.[5]There is speculation that Bodega Bay may have beenSir Francis Drake'sNova Albion landing location on the California coast.[6]
Bodega Bay was first charted by Europeans in 1775 by theSpanish Peruvian explorerJuan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra of theSpanish Navy. The bay that was originally named for him was not present day Bodega Bay, but Tomales Bay. His ship, theSonora, anchored in the lee of Tomales Point on October 3, 1775, departing the next day. Bodega y Quadra named Tomales BayPuerto de la Bodega. "There is no evidence in the journal or on the charts that Bodega y Quadra ever saw the entrance to [present day] Bodega Harbor or knew of the lagoon to the north".[7] Bodega y Quadra planned to return, but was not able to. Later, as commandant of the naval base atSan Blas,New Spain, Bodega y Quadra sent other expeditions to Bodega Bay with the intention of establishing a colony and mission there. It was decided, however, that the location was not ideal.[8]
The first Russians to see Bodega Bay were theRussian-American Company (RAC) supervisors of theAleut hunting parties aboard the Americanmaritime fur tradesea otter hunting shipPeacock in 1807.Timofei Nikitich Tarakanov[9] of the RAC returned toNovo Arkhangelsk, Alaska, and reported the location toAlexander Andreyevich Baranov, the chief administrator of the RAC. Baranov instructed his assistantIvan Kuskov to survey the area for a settlement. Kuskov, the Commerce Counselor of the RAC sailing in theKodiak (alsotransliterated asKadiak andKad'iak), entered Bodega Bay on January 8, 1809. Temporary buildings were erected to house the ship's complement of 190 crew (130 native Alaskan males, 20 native females, and 40 Russians).[10]
TheKodiak remained in Bodega Bay until October, 1809, returning to Alaska with more than 2,000 sea otter pelts.[10] Kuskov returned to Novo Arkhangelsk, reporting abundant fur bearing mammals, fish, timber and tillable lands. Baranov instructed Kuskov to return and establish a permanent settlement in the area. In 1811, Kuskov returned, this time aboard theChirikov, but found fewer otter in Bodega Bay (1,160 otter skins were taken). Three American ships were also operating in the area from a base in Drake's Bay, sending hunters into San Francisco Bay and the surrounding bays.[10]
Kuskov sailed the brigChirikov back to present day Bodega Harbor on March 15, 1812.[7] Kuskov named it in honor of the Russian Minister of Commerce,Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev.[11] During 1812 Kuskov hadFort Ross built.[12] Bodega Bay, located about 20 mi (32 km) south, served as the primary port for Fort Ross.[13] RAC ships often stopped at Bodega Bay for repairs, such as theIl'mena, which was laid up at Bodega Bay for repairs from September 1815 to April 1816.[14]
Zaliv Rumyantsev (Rumyantsev Bay, also transliterated "Rumiantsov" and "Rumiantsev") appears on the earliest Russian charts of Bodega Bay (1817–1819) identifying present day Bodega Bay and Bodega Harbor. Bodega Head was namedMouis Rumyantsev (Point Rumyantsev). Tomales Point was namedPoint Great Bodega and Tomales BayGreat Bodega Bay, more or less conforming to Bodega y Quadra's original naming.
On his return trip, Kuskov found the otter population scarce in Bodega Bay, and the harbor being frequented by numerous American and British otter-hunting expeditions. After exploring the area, they ended up selecting a place 15 mi (24 km) north that the nativeKashaya Pomo people calledMad shui nui orMetini.Metini, the seasonal home of the nativeKashayaPomo people, had a modest anchorage and abundant natural resources and would become the Russian settlement of Fort Ross.[15]
By 1817, sea otters in this area were practically eliminated by international over-hunting.[16]Zaliv Rumyantsev continued to be the mainentrepôt for the Russian Colony until January 1842, and the earliest European structures built at Bodega Bay were the RAC wharf, warehouse, and barracks.
After theMexican–American War and the 1848Mexican Cession Bodega Bay became United States territory. It remained an active harbor for shipping lumber until the 1870s, when theNorth Pacific Coast Railroad was built, bypassing the coast in favor of a more inland route.[17]
A plan byPacific Gas & Electric to build anuclear power plant received significant negative attention from local citizens, beginning in 1958. By 1964, the plans for the plant were abandoned.[18][19]
Bodega Bay was the setting for the 1963Alfred Hitchcock filmThe Birds starringRod Taylor,Tippi Hedren andSuzanne Pleshette.[20]
In October, 2017, Bodega Bay, on the northwest edge ofSonoma County, served as a site of refuge and supply depot for evacuees who are escaping from a historic, fast-moving,destructive fire innorthern California, especially residents from that area. People fromSanta Rosa and other regions affected by the raging wildfire started pouring in not long after the blazes started.[21][22]
Like underwater parks, thesemarine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.
38°16′25″N123°00′22″W / 38.27361°N 123.00611°W /38.27361; -123.00611[23]
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